The annual CEO Challenge survey focuses attention on the voices of business leaders from companies of various sizes and industries, and reflects—in this year’s survey more than ever—the globalization of world business.

The Conference Board defines mid-markets, generally, as firms with revenues of between $100 million and $1 billion, and this report focuses on the responses of 114 U.S. firms with revenues of under $1 billion. A number of CEOs from smaller firms also completed the survey, and (where appropriate) this report compares their responses with those of their larger counterparts, as well as with the responses from CEOs of firms with more than $1 billion in revenue. All responses have been kept anonymous; however, a number of the mid-market CEOs volunteered to take part in follow-up interviews about their challenges. Excerpts and insights from some of those interviews are also incorporated in this report.